Help with Emerald Cut Diamond

[Waltz41]

Hello,
I'm looking for a little help. I've done a lot of reading on the site so far, and I must say it's been very helpful. I'm looking between a few diamonds, I'm having a tough time deciding on color and clairty vs. cut...... here's the basic specs:

1.0 Ct. I VS2 67.7% depth, 67% Table
1.01 Ct. H VS1 68.9% depth, 78% Table
1.02 Ct. I VVS2 62.7% depth, 75% Table

All are within $200 of each other, so I'm not worried about that, I just want the best diamond out of them. Any help here?

Brian

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Hello Waltz41!! Welcome to PS....there are several of us here who LOVE EC''s and I just went through my own fishing expedition to find an EC for my recent ring purchase...

From what I learned, cut and clarity need to be your #1 & #2 concerns in an EC...cut to refract the light...clarity because of the clean lines of the stone. VS1 and VS2 are good clarity standards. If you can find a SI1 that is "eye clean" and you can psychologically handle that, then this is an option for you...I went for the VS1 myself.

The depth and table are important characteristics. Too much depth will make the stone look smaller. Too large of a table will make the stone look glassy. From my research, what I learned is that you want to "optimately" shoot for Depth > Table. I shot for Depth between 62-66% and Table about 59-63%. It narrows down the field considerably, but my stone is Depth=65.9 and Table=62.

As for color, this is ultimately the eye of the beholder. I like icy white, so I got an "E," but there are people who like the warmth of the yellowish cast and can go down to G and H.

Hope this helps some...Hopefully Hest88 will join in as she is an EC enthusiast as well...

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Brian...you edited everything while I was responding! LOL

Of the three, the best cut "seems" to be #1 as depth>table, but the numbers are a bit high...have you actually seen the stones?? That ultimately is going to make the difference for you...

 

[Waltz41]

Ha...Sorry about that, I just figured instead of dancing around, why not just put up exactly what i''m comparing. I haven''t seen the diamonds themselves, as they are from an online source. I was a little hesitant with this, but i''m saving close to $800 by going with these online over a local jeweler, making these in my price range. They are all GIA graded as well. I''ll be setting it in a channel set 18k white gold setting. My gf i know is going to love it no matter what, and i know she''s probably most interested in the ''glimmering'' of the diamond, which I know is going to be hard to judge without seeing. It''s basically I vs H color, VS1-VS2 or drop down to S1 ? for clarity, and then cut wise, high table % (70 and above) with medium depth % (mid 60s). Something has to be sacrificed....just not sure what.

Brian

 

[Jodi]

I''d go with the "H" - the difference in color can show up more in step cuts. "I"s can look kinda dark or pale yellowy/gray, but I''ve always found "H" is a big step up. I''m no expert, but really, I''d go with a higher color if you like all the proportions and since they''re all around the same clarity.

Good luck!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Brian...

Just my opinion, but unless you''re sure that the SI1 is "eye clean" I wouldn''t risk it with an EC diamond...it needs to stay clean...Of the 3 here, I''d forgo the VVS2 as the Table seems too big. If you want color > cut, then the "H" is the winner...if you want cut first, then go with #1 & take the "I"...

Another option is to keep searching now with the parameters you want and see what turns up!!!

 

[Waltz41]

My original gut was to go with the H, that''s what I really wanted...but it seemed more important almost to find the best cut when searching for the emerald cut. Again, i know it''s really really hard to do this without seeing them, but i started looking at I''s because i figured how much of a difference is there with an I and an H?

Also now, I can find some other''s in H color if I lower the clarity to an SI1 but medium blue flourencese (don''t know anything about that)...for example:

1.06 Ct. H Si1 64.7% depth, 67% Table Medium Blue Flourencense


Thanks so far everyone, I''m giving myself an ulcer over this stuff!! I can'' wait till I get this over with!

Brian

 

[Sunni79]

I was looking at emerald cut diamonds about a year ago and I was told not to go go below a G VS2. Emerald cuts have steps in them and they don''t hide much(clarity or color). That said, I love ec diamonds. I think they look very elegant.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Brian,

Just had a thought...is the online dealer someone reputable? IE..someone who has been highly recommended here on PS or through a highly recommended source?? If so, could you call the online dealer and inquire about the 3 stones? They could pull out the GIA reports and tell you where the inclusions are located and to what degree...they could also (possibly) email you pix of the stones and provide you with more information as they could look at the stone...

If you find one to your liking, then I would have it sent to an appraiser before purchasing it to determine if the stone is something you do indeed want to purchase. The appraiser can help you determine whether the stone is worth the purchase and if not, you can send it back...no harm, no foul...

 

[EuroStyle]

I would go with #1 of these three...the table/depth proportions are very close, and I found in my own search that these usually ended up being the ebst looking EC''s. That beinbg said, I would see what a better color would cost you, as you can literally see into an EC, so low color is a lot harder to hide...


Sean

 

[Waltz41]

Thanks so far everyone. I''m still somewhat unsure.....I guess the big question still remains for me.....what''s more important Color or Cut? Once I decide that or figure that out.....I''ll know my diamond. I''d like to go the best of both worlds, but i''m pushing my budget pretty hard then. I know whatever I get my gf will love, and unless the diamond is put side to side, she''s not going to know the difference......it''s more so for my peice of mind.
So any last thoughts??

I with good cut vs H with fair cut??? which one!!


Brian

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/27/2005 8:15:1 AM
Author: Waltz41

... what's more important Color or Cut?

Without some much better description of the stones than those stats, it is impossible to evaluate "cut" and justify the tradeoff you mention.

Trading color or clarity for a certain combination of table & depth % that may or may not mean anything at all sounds ... as risky as a blind shot

IMO, "Cut" is important when it adds brilliance. From the information posted, there's no way to guess that. The best way to tell is look at the diamonds in person or at least via professional pictures or using some tool to describe brilliance (IdealSCope and the sort). These are not perfect, but would do some good.

Even a part of this sort of presentation would help a TON.

SI1 has good chances to show glaring inlclusions in a step cut. Perhaps not, but without seein pictures it is not possible to tell. The clarity plot on the cert helps sometimes and it may be the easiest kind of information to obtain.

Well, just my 0.2 worth

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Date: 4/27/2005 8:15

1 AM
Author: Waltz41
I guess the big question still remains for me.....what''s more important Color or Cut?
Brian

Brian...

What we''ve been saying to you is that it''s a balancing act. But because ECs are step cut, there''s a lot more opportunities for inclusions and symmetry to show, so the cut needs to be very clean. But at the same time, it''s going to depend on the individual''s preferences. If you could get pictures to see the diamonds in advance, it would probably hel you make the decision...If it were up to me, and I to rank preferences I would rank:

Cut
Clarity
Color
Carat

My that''s just my preferences....you really do need more information about these diamonds. Like Ana stated, an IdealScope will help you determine the quality of the cuts...Hope this helps...